Appliances and lighting consumer tips
Using appliances and turning on lights in your home typically consumes 10 per cent of the energy within the home. As such, using energy to perform these tasks adds to your home utilities bill and ultimately adds carbon dioxide to the environment.
So making smart decisions about what lights and appliances you purchase, as well as how you use them, can have a big effect on your utility bills and the environment. In this section, we will provide you with information and tips for making energy efficient choices about appliances and lighting.
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Appliances
When purchasing a new appliance, search for options that have been certified as energy efficient. Look to the EnerGuide label to save energy and money. EnerGuide is the official Government of Canada mark that tells you how much electricity an appliance consumes in one year and how it compares with similar appliances in terms of electricity consumption. The lower the kilowatt hour rating, the more money you will save in energy and money.
Search for appliances with a range of cycles so there is little to no wasted energy. For example, Sensors in some dish washers can measure how dirty dishes are and adjust cycles accordingly, and clothes dryers now have more accurate sensors that cause them to shut off prior to the end of a timed load if the clothes are dry.
A refrigerator is one of the biggest electricity guzzlers in your home. Check your refrigerator’s door seal by closing the door on a five dollar bill. If the bill is held tightly in place, the seal is OK. If it moves, the door may need to be adjusted or the seal replaced.
- Different types of machines have also been manufactured with energy efficiency in mind. New front-loading clothes washers clean by tumbling clothes and therefore don’t need agitators or use as much water.
- You can also save energy by using the appliances efficiently. Below are some tips for using energy more efficiently.
- Don’t let frost build up more than six millimeters in your freezer. Defrost regularly for peak efficiency.
- Microwaves use about half as much electricity as regular ovens.
- Appliances such as televisions, VCRs, stereo equipment, clock radios and microwaves continue to use electricity even in stand-by mode. Turn them off before going away on holidays.
- Using dishwashers can actually be more efficient than washing dishes by hand – you typically use the dishwasher once for every three to four times you would hand wash dishes.
- Do not run your dishwasher and clothes washer with less than a full load.
- Clean the dryer’s lint trap after every load. A clogged filter can increase energy use by 30 per cent and can be a fire hazard.
- Wash your clothes in cold or warm water. A whopping 85 to 90 per cent of the energy used by washing machines is for heating the water. Plus, hot water shrinks and fades your clothes, and wears them out more quickly.
- Prior to 1994, refrigerators and freezers used chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) as a coolant; however, CFCs were replaced by more environmentally friendly hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). HFCs still require special handling so discarded refrigerators and freezers should be disposed of at proper recycling facilities.
- Some freezers manufactured before 2000 may contain mercury switches and other appliances manufactured prior to 1979 may contain PCB capacitors. Because of potentially dangerous substances, and because almost all parts of an appliance can be recycled, all appliances should be recycled.
Lighting
The easiest way to save energy with any lighting system is to simply turn off any lights that are not needed. Turn off your lights when you leave a room. You can also use external lights fixed with motion sensors and timers that come on only when needed.
If you have lights that must be on all night, such as nightlights in stairways, replace them with compact fluorescent light bulbs. Better yet, use a light emitting diode nightlight, which costs less than 20 cents a year to run and requires no bulb changes.
- Use task lighting; instead of brightly lighting an entire room, focus the light where you need it. For example, use fluorescent under-cabinet lighting for kitchen sinks and countertops under cabinets.
- Take advantage of daylight by using light-colored, loose-weave curtains on your windows to allow daylight to penetrate the room while preserving privacy. Also, decorate with lighter colors that reflect daylight.
- Dust your lamps and light fixtures with the power off. Even a thin layer of dust reduced light levels.
- Install dimmer switches so you use only the amount of energy you need to light a room.
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